How to Stop Google Docs from Automatically Sharing Links to Suggested Files

The Smart Canvas Integration

Google Docs is deeply integrated into the wider Google Workspace ecosystem. One of the ways this manifests is through “Smart Canvas” features. If you are typing a document and you mention a colleague’s name using an “@” symbol, or if you begin typing the title of another document stored in your Google Drive, Docs will automatically generate a smart chip or a direct hyperlink. Furthermore, if you are sharing your current document with collaborators, Google Docs will often proactively suggest that you also grant those collaborators access to the specifically linked files you just referenced within the text.

While this automated permission prompting is incredibly useful for ensuring everyone on a team has the necessary context, it can become a serious security risk if you are working on a public-facing document. If you link to an internal financial spreadsheet for your own reference while drafting a press release, you do not want Google Docs automatically popping up a prompt suggesting you share that private spreadsheet with everyone who has access to the press draft. If you prefer to manually control file permissions rather than having Docs proactively suggest sharing your linked files, you need to disable this integration.

How to Stop Automatic Link Sharing Prompts

You can prevent Google Docs from suggesting you share linked files via the Preferences menu.

1. Open your document in Google Docs.
2. Look at the top toolbar and click on the Tools menu.
3. Scroll down the dropdown list and select Preferences.
4. In the Preferences window, ensure you are on the General tab.
5. Look down the list of checkboxes for the option labelled Suggest files in sharing dialog or similar wording related to suggesting links. (Note: Google frequently updates the exact wording of Smart Canvas preferences).
6. Click the checkbox to remove the checkmark.
7. Click the blue OK button to save your changes.

Google Docs will no longer proactively interrupt your workflow to suggest modifying the sharing permissions of other files stored in your Google Drive just because you linked to them in the current document.